Never Let Me Go
by Trinity Everett
Summary: A collection of Tony and Michelle hugs and cuddles ficlets based entirely on prompts from a tumblr challenge. Newest prompt: Bear Hugs - Tony just wants a little bit of muddy love.
1. Platonic

So I've been away for a long, long time and I apologize profusely for that. I'm not sure this is my best homecoming story to present, but I think it might be fun anyway. This is part of a tumblr challenge and will include 20 drabbles and ficlets. Unless otherwise noted, they all stand alone.

* * *

**Title:** Uneasy Affection  
**Fandom:** 24  
**Characters: **Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt: **Hugs and Cuddles Challenge - 01. Platonic  
**Word Count:** 274  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Affection and Tony Almeida don't always mix.  
**Author's Notes:** I feel like I've named something with a similar title, but this is all I could come up with for this. So, if you feel like you've read something from me with this title before, sorry. This is new.

* * *

Affection doesn't always come easily for him. He's been single for a long time; his largely affectionless relationship with Nina doesn't count anymore, he's decided. Not to mention, the corps isn't known for being warm and fuzzy. He is long out of his getting hugs from mommy stage. Back slaps and firm handshakes have become his usual fare. It's manly affection. Not entirely satisfying, but nobody is really expecting a handhold over a basket of wings on football Sunday.

Even so, he's not immune to knowing when a girl just needs a hug. It's been a long couple of days for her. Admittedly, he hasn't been the nicest person in the world either, adding to her workload because Mason has dumped even more shit on his own desk. It's probably a little his fault that she looks like the world is both out to get her and coming apart at the seams.

This is why he's standing here just inside the break room, arms wrapped around her thin shoulders. Her stiff, thin shoulders. Michelle's more than just a little stunned, he's sure, but he risks the sexual harassment charge to continue the hug. It's actually kind of nice giving someone a hug just for the sake of hugging. No sex involved, just a friendly, platonic hug.

"Tony?" Every ounce of her confusion seeps into that single word.

"Shh, Michelle. I'm givin' ya a hug." He draws her in closer, finally feeling her arms come to life around him.

She still has no idea what's brought this on, he knows, but as she sags against him a little more, it's obvious it's okay either way.


	2. Sleepy

**Title:** Rousing  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles - 02. Sleepy  
**Word Count**: 346  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: Michelle wakes a sleepy Tony.  
**Author's** **Notes**: Thanks to everyone for reading the first prompt, I hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

"Tony," she singsonged quietly. She scratched her fingers through his hair with each hum of his name. He'd fallen asleep at the computer again. No matter how many times she reminded him to push back from the desk and come to bed when he started feeling tired, he'd done it again. Third night in a row.

"Sweetheart, wake up. You're going to hurt in the morning." Still nothing.

The kiss she dropped on his neck was finally enough to rouse him. Of course it was. He loved when she kissed his neck.

"Come on, sweetheart. Up, up."

After studying her for a long moment through sleepy, hooded eyes, he complied. "M'up."

Dutifully she helped him stand, steadying him when he swayed heavily. "Easy, Tony."

"Mhmm, m'easy."

Now that made her laugh softly. "Sure you are, sweetheart. Sure you are."

They didn't get very far before his arms would around her waist, tugging her into him gracelessly. Luckily, she was awake enough to keep them from sprawling to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs. Still, any protest she might have had was lost as her nose connected with the warm skin between his chin and his t-shirt. She loved his scent. She loved breathing him in and experiencing just him. His aftershave was all but gone; only the barest trace remained, leaving whatever made him uniquely Tony.

She loved when he was sleepy and warm and his affection didn't come as a result of a stressful day where they'd sniped at each other once too often for their comfort levels. She loved when he just pulled her in and held her tightly. Even as tired as he was, his grip was firm, but not painful. Never painful with him. His embrace was just the right combination of protective and tender as their bodies settled into the spaces left for each other.

"Come on, honey," she murmured finally, taking the opportunity to rub her nose against his neck again. His arms tightened around her reflexively, but she continued without missing a breath, "It's bedtime for us."


	3. HurtComfort

**Title**: In the Daylight  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles Prompt 03. Hurt/Comfort  
**Word Count**: 574  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: Post Day 4, Michelle sees things in the light of day.  
**Author's Notes**: Once again, thanks to everyone for reading these little ficlets. I hope you're enjoying them!

* * *

"Does it hurt?"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, making her cheeks flush traitorously. Talking about it wasn't taboo, of course, but by mutual agreement, they hadn't mentioned any of the events of the last 24 or so hours, not since shaking Jack's hand and watching him walk off into the sunrise. Instead, they'd gone home and fallen into an exhausted sleep, limbs curled around each other in ways that shouldn't have been as comfortable as they were. It was late when they woke again, late enough that dinner consisted of two lukewarm bowls of soup before they surrendered again to the pull of sleep.

Now it was daylight once more and they'd managed to drag themselves back into the land of the living. Mostly. She was in one of his old shirts, one she'd commandeered so long ago, her hair hastily swept back into a ridiculous ponytail. The night before he'd dug through one of the boxes of his clothes she'd kept locked in the spare room for clean underwear and a pair of pajamas, and now he made no move to change. Not that having coffee together required more formal attire anyway. It was comfortable, strangely so, to be sitting curled up against a throw pillow with him nearby again.

And then she'd opened her mouth. The easy calm that had settled over them was broken because her gaze had strayed to his bandaged foot and the words had come out unbidden.

"Sorry," she murmured, covering her blunder with a slow sip from her coffee. She had a right to ask, of course, but it was so much easier not to talk about what'd happened before. It always had been.

Though hadn't that been part of what got them in trouble? Not talking about it?

"It's just… I worry, you know," she added, finding a little more strength to continue. He needed to know what she thought. Even if it broke their unspoken deal.

She settled beside him, touching his foot gently. The bandage had bunched under his toes, the dingy color reminding her maybe she wasn't the greatest housekeeper in the world. Still, if he was in pain, she should be doing something about it. Propping his foot up, giving him painkillers, making him more comfortable.

His arm slid around her shoulders, drawing her in close. Her arms wound around him, tighter than she'd intended, but not nearly as tightly as she'd like. God, she needed this hug – this simple hug – after everything yesterday. After looking at the reminder of his ability to think on his, well, his feet. She needed to be closer to him.

She felt his lips brush against her hair. "Yeah," he answered finally, his voice rough with the truth. She tried to keep from tensing in surprise; he'd never been one to admit these things without a proper interrogation. Still, she relaxed on the realization that they were both trying to be better. "Yeah, it stings a little. I'll keep it elevated and it'll be okay."

Her only response was to pull his feet across her lap and wrap his arms around her tighter. Her face landed in his neck, relishing in his warmth. They'd both get the comfort they needed this way.


	4. Sick Fic

**Title**: Tales of a Dead Man  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles Challenge - #04. Sick!Fic  
**Word Count**: 750  
**Rating**: PG-13 for some launguage  
**Summary**: Tony Almeida is sure he's a dead man.  
**Author's** **Notes**: Here we are with number 4 in the Never Let Me Go - Hugs and Cuddles Challenge. Thank you so much to everyone for reading. Enjoy!

* * *

She was doing a good job of hiding it in front of everyone else, but he could tell something was up. Call it his Michelle!Sense, but he knew something was going on with her. For one, while she wasn't what anyone would call a morning person, she was still an earlier riser than him. Lately, though, she was the one grumbling for extra time under the covers in the morning. She was also the first one to hit the sack at night, burrowing under her side of their heavy down comforter like they were living somewhere subarctic instead of southern California.

Something was definitely up.

Then there were her extra long bathroom breaks. He wasn't one to be a stickler for the rules, but it wasn't like her to disappear five times a day. It really wasn't. Especially when each time she came back looking worse than the time before. But since he valued his life, he wouldn't say that. He did want to have his limbs intact when they got married in a few months.

And it wasn't her period, he knew that. Yeah, he knew these things about his fiancé. He was a man with self-preservation skills. He knew when to bring her a candy bar and let her pick a sappy movie to watch after their shift was done. He knew when to supply a heating pad and nimble fingers (for decidedly chaste purposes, of course). This wasn't that time.

Come to think of it, it hadn't been that time in a while.

His gaze strayed to the floor, where she was coming back from the bathroom – yet again – looking even greener than before.

Green.

Sick.

Sickness.

Morning sickness.

_Shit_.

He tried to make his jog downstairs seem natural, even as he was mentally calculating the number of people who would gladly kill him for this offense. His bride to be was somewhere near the top, but definitely beneath his old fashioned, outspoken mother, who had gotten off to a pretty rocky start with Michelle in the first place. He wasn't even going to talk about the wedding planning meltdowns. At least this time they'd join forces? Bonding. That was perfect; killing him for this would help them bond.

He came skidding to a stop in front of Michelle's desk, earning a tiny lift of the eyebrow from his future wife. Even worn out, she still looked beautiful.

"Hey." He tried for nonchalant instead of some variation of absolutely scared shitless because he'd just realized he might've knocked her up three months before their wedding. "How uh, you feeling okay?"

To her credit, Michelle tried to put on a brave face, going as far as to sit up and smooth her hands over her blotter. "Yeah, oh yeah I'm fine. Just tired."

The smile she offered him was nothing convincing, but he still smiled back.

"Well if you wanted to knock off early, that'd be okay." His hand brushed her cheek. "To rest, I mean. Nap." His eyes must've been broadcasting how thoroughly he was not buying her fine-ness, because he felt her swallow. She knew. Or at the very least she was considering it, too.

"Yeah, actually, that sounds pretty good. Thanks, Tony." She was already standing, and from the look of it, trying desperately not to sway. "I'll get a ride from transport, leave you the car?"

"Sure. I'll stop by the store on the way home. Pick up some things."

Like crackers. Gatorade. A home pregnancy test or ten. The usual.

That earned him a distracted nod. "Sounds great. We need more bread."

"Kay." He walked her to the door like the caring, gentle fiancée-possible-baby-daddy he was. It gave him the chance to wrap her up and bring her into his chest while she waited. At least he could give her this comfort, even if he was going to have to break the news to her later.

His hand slid in warm circles over her back. No matter the reason, he hated that she was sick.

"I'll see you at home?" he murmured finally, touching his lips to her temple.

She nodded sleepily. "You'll see me at home. Thanks for springing me early."

He almost screwed up then. Almost blurted out something stupid like, "Thanks for having my baby."

Lucky for him, he'd developed slightly more restraint than that. No use freaking her out before he had to. Instead he managed a pretty respectable, "See you soon, sweetheart."

Still, he was a dead man.


	5. Tackle Hug

**Title**: Now Home  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles Challenge #05. Tackle!Hug  
**Word** **Count**: 428  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: Michelle's finally home.  
**Author's** **Notes**: Thank you for reading, everybody! I'm almost done with my first batch of these. Remember to let me know if you'd like any specific prompts to be filled before the others - I can send anyone the list if they're interested.

* * *

Dammit, she'd become one of those people. She'd never wanted to become one of those people, but two weeks was too long. She'd gone two weeks without him trying to give her sweaty hugs after playing basketball, refusing to allow her to evade him. She'd gone two weeks without being able to shove her freezing toes underneath his legs and warm them up at night. She'd gone two weeks without hearing him snore into her shoulder, two weeks without his arm wrapping around her waist, two weeks without feeling him solidly at her back. Two weeks was too damn long.

Hell, the ride from the airport would be too long, and she hadn't even gotten off the plane yet. She just wanted to be home with him. She wanted this trip to end already.

Nothing had gone right, from the minute her alarm went off at 3:30 am two weeks ago, sending her practically sprawling to the floor. She'd been pulled aside at the airport and frisked, despite having papers with her credentials, which should have kept the process running smoothly. They'd almost closed the plane doors on her thanks to her diversion with security, and then the rest of the trip had been downhill from there.

Being home felt like a godsend. Even if she had to wait for everyone else to deplane before she could leave, thanks to her seatmate's embarrassing lack of control over their last minute soda. She'd cleaned up as best she could, but it was still better to let everyone go ahead than to give them the impression that she'd urinated on her khakis. Just another hour and she'd be home. Maybe she'd take a bath before Tony got home. He loved coming home to find her dozing in a bubble bath. Maybe he'd join her tonight. Oh, that'd be nice.

Imagine her surprise when she finally trudged her way to baggage claim, only to find Tony standing at the bottom of the escalator, behind the large red "no entry" signs. She'd told him not to worry about getting her from the airport, but here he was. Here he was, ready to take her home and make the last two weeks disappear. Never had she loved him more.

Which was why as soon as she got around the obnoxious family of four and their thirteen bags, she jumped on him. It wasn't her most graceful approach, but he caught her anyway, barely even stumbling as her arms and legs wound around him and her mouth crushed against his.

Now she was home.


	6. Post-Sex

**Title**: Buying It  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles Challenge #06. Post-Sex  
**Word Count**: 293  
**Rating**: R  
**Summary**: _"You think they bought it today?"_ Tony and Michelle have a secret.  
**Author's** **Notes**: We're almost done with the first seven prompts! Thank you to everyone for reading and letting me know what you think! Let me know if you'd like to pick the order of my next prompts.

Well that had been, unexpected.

Not the sex itself, of course. She'd known that was coming – pardon the pun – from the moment their eyes locked across the table at Division. The when wasn't that much of a surprise, either. He'd asked her to dinner after their meeting and then those nimble fingers of his had taken every opportunity to touch her. It started with light brushes, which turned to lingering, deliberate caresses, and once they were in the safety of the cab on the way home – full-blown gropes. So no, the act and the when of the act weren't surprises at all.

The where was pretty surprising. She'd no sooner shut the door to her apartment when he was pressing her back against it and hauling her legs around his waist. The coupling itself was loud, frantic, and damn good. She was pretty sure her panties would be declared a casualty of Tony's questing, impatient fingers, and his shirt may or may not need to be repaired.

Either way, they were still joined, slumped together on the floor in front of her apartment door. Their breathing had long since returned to normal, but neither made a move to leave. In fact, Tony's arms wound around her waist tighter. She made sure to pillow his cheek on her breast, giving him the chance to rest. He'd worked hard after all. So hard, he earned the easy strokes her hand was making across his back.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "You think they bought it today?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh yeah. We definitely fooled them. Operation keep the relationship secret was a success," she teased, dipping her head to kiss him. "Assuming nobody saw you touch my ass as we left, that is."


	7. For Warmth

Title: Nice Like That  
Fandom: 24  
Characters: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
Prompt: Hugs and Cuddles #07. For Warmth  
Word Count:372  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: Things never seem to go as Tony plans, but he's pretty nice anyway.  
Author's Notes: Sorry for the short break I took from posting. This past weekend was pretty hairy for me. I'll try to be better from here on out! Thank you again to everyone for reading and commenting, and I'll reply to all your comments as soon as I can!

* * *

Damn it, this was not how he'd expected the night to go. When they'd been sent to the conference together, he'd had visions of sneaking out of the fancy dinners and taking her back to their suite to peel whatever slinky, sexy dress she was wearing from her body. He'd had visions of spending all night long wrapped up in each other, tangled in sinfully expensive sheets.

Instead, they were standing out in the cold, pouring rain in their formal clothes, watching smoke billow out of one side of the hotel – not their side, thankfully. It was definitely not the romantic night he'd been planning. At this point he just hoped their stuff would survive the dousing it was getting from the sprinklers. Having a wet computer would only make Michelle unhappy, and an unhappy Michelle meant there was no lovin' to be had.

Not that she looked much happier right now. The hair that'd teased the edges of her cheeks all night was hanging limply in her face now, and he watched her rub her hands up and down her arms. She was getting wet and she was cold.

"C'mere, sweetheart." He was already pulling her in, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She came willingly, arms burrowing underneath his jacket to press against his back.

Oh that was nice. She was warm, despite her shivering. Maybe he was a little cold, too. At least now they could wrap around each other, even if it wasn't in the fun, dirty way he'd hoped for.

He felt her sigh against him and nodded. "I know. Only us, huh? You think maybe we're cursed?"

"Mmm, I'm starting to wonder." She squeezed him gently, lips moving closer to his jaw. "Tell me again how long your family's been in Chicago?"

"Uhh, since my parents were kids. Why?"

He felt her grin against his chin. "Just checking to see if you're part of the Cubs curse, too. That could really explain a lot if you think about i- Tony!"

"Cute, Michelle." His gentle caress became a tickle, because she deserved it for that crack. He was not part of that curse. "Real cute."

But he pulled her closer anyway. He was just nice like that.


	8. FirstLast

Title: Make It Good  
Fandom: 24  
Characters: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
Prompt: Hugs and Cuddles #18. First/Last  
Word Count: 236  
Rating: PG  
Summary:Post Day 3. Michelle muses on something she needs, and she's not sure how to get it.  
Author's Notes: Sorry this one got a little bit angsty. You'll also notice I skipped a few. Don't worry, I'll go back to them, I was just inspired for this one before the actual 8th prompt.

* * *

The first time she hugged him, her heart was pounding so hard, she'd been afraid it might cause her to lose consciousness. His arms had been warm, sturdy and strong as they held her up. They'd been fighting, at odds all day and yet he still held her up. He still made her feel like it might all be okay.

She missed that side of him now. She missed knowing she could lean into him and have his arms wind around her securely. She missed having him ward off the worry and the stress, and she missed knowing her arms did the same for him. Now when he hugged her, his arms went between uncomfortably stiff and limp with disinterest. It was how she remembered her brother hugging their grandmother's sister when she was growing up. It was a hug of obligation, not of love. Not a hug of need, of happiness. Not even of affection.

That needed to change. She needed to hug her husband, not a stranger. She needed to hold onto him and not let go. She needed to wrap her arms around the version of him who would hold onto her, too.

This hug would count, she decided. She would pull his arms around her and make him hold on tightly. She would make it last longer than the perfunctory squeeze. It would be a good hug.

It would be their last.


	9. Manly Hugs

**Title:** The Etiquette of Man Hugs  
**Fandom:** 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles #09. Manly Hugs  
**Word Count**: 548  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: _He loved his son more than anything in the world and he'd jumped into fatherhood with both feet..._ A post day 4 AU.  
**Author's** **Notes**: I'm sorry once again for my lack of posts these last few days. This week was incredibly hellish. We're almost halfway done, though! Thanks again for sticking with me.

* * *

She was almost ashamed to say she'd been worried when he'd volunteered to let her rest. Scratch that, she was ashamed of that moment of concerned, no matter how tiny it had been. He was one of the fiercest yet sweetest people she'd ever met. He loved his son more than anything in the world and he'd jumped into fatherhood with both feet, despite the lingering uneasiness in their own relationship. (Getting pregnant right after getting back together was neither her idea of a good plan nor his, but it'd happened and here they were.) She had no business worrying about them while she caught up on a couple hours of desperately needed sleep.

They were fine when she emerged from the bedroom, rubbing the last bits of her hard sleep from her eyes. Of course they were fine. They'd been fine the whole time. Beyond the occasional gentle rumble of Tony's voice, she hadn't heard a peep from them. Definitely not even the tiniest sound of distress from her baby.

They were also damn adorable. She saw their identical dark heads first, both turned toward the TV watching whatever baby learning show Tony insisted was the best for their boy today. Whatever it was, he was enthralled; his dark eyes were trained on the TV and not even Tony's quiet explanations on – of all things – the best approach to a manly hug were distracting him.

"Manly hugs, sweetheart?" She spoke out of sheer amusement, breaking their stillness. Judging by the lazy grin that spread across Tony's face, he didn't mind so much.

"Uh huh. There's an etiquette to man-hugs, Michelle."

"Is there now?" She slipped by them to dart into the kitchen for something cool to drink. Napping always left her thirsty for some reason.

"Course there is. No man wants a wimpy man hug. That's like a wimpy fish handshake."

"Of course not, honey," she hummed indulgently, giving herself the time to take a few sips of water before joining them on the couch.

Her son's eyes settled on her, but he made no motion to leave his father's warm embrace. His little lips puckered as her thumb slid over his cheek.

"Hi handsome, is daddy being good for you? Do you know what he's talking about with this manly hug silliness?"

That earned her a delighted baby grin. Oh he knew his father was crazy too. As long as they were all on the same page.

"It's not silliness, Michelle. It's a life lesson. In fact, we're manly hugging now. Not too hard, not too soft. Just enough ta say you care without making a big deal about it."

"Oh is that it?" She nudged him to make room for her to stretch with them. She wasn't still tired, but she wouldn't turn down the chance to cuddle with them both.

"Yup. That's it. The hug shared between men."

She grinned, kissing him softly. He did have somewhat perfect logic, she could give him that. It was silly logic, but it was still somewhat perfect.

"Well don't let me ruin your man hug. I'll just stay right here, waiting my turn."

"Well lucky for you another man hug rule is to always let mom join in."

Now that was logic she definitely wouldn't argue with.


	10. Near Miss

**Title**: What Matters  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles Challenge #08. New Miss  
**Word Count:** 468  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: He's injured, she's watching over him.  
**Author's** **Notes**: Halfway there! Thank you everybody for your support!

* * *

It'd been close this time, too close. A couple inches to the left and she wouldn't be sitting where she was, knees pulled against her chest, watching him sleep. He was still weak, but he'd insisted on coming home. He hadn't wanted to spend another night in the hospital on a bed he swore was worse than his bunk at boot camp. By all accounts, he'd been responding well to his meds and his wound was showing no signs of infection. The doctors hadn't been entirely pleased with his blood pressure when they released him, but they'd sent her home with a checklist of things to watch out for and suggestions for eating better. Apparently their diet wasn't doing him any favors. Probably not her either, now that she thought about it. They would do better.

They were both still here to do better. She wouldn't waste that.

"Michelle." His voice was soft, rough with the sleep he'd somehow shaken off.

Her fingers found purchase on his cheek, smoothing his scruff gently. He'd startled her, but she tried not to let him see that.

"Hey," she breathed, trying not to disrupt the stillness too much. "You should be asleep. You need to rest."

He knew that, of course, but he was tired enough to indulge her.

"C'mere. You needta sleep too."

Her lips found his forehead. "I'm okay. I need to watch you."

The fingers that slid under her pajama top were sleepy and uncoordinated, but she scooted closer anyway to save him the stretching. She'd been wary of getting too close and hurting him.

"No ya don'. M'fine. Just c'mere."

"You need to sleep so you can get better." Her fingers brushed his collar, careful not to tug the fabric over the bandages on his chest.

"Can't get better with you all the way over there."

It was sweet, that sleepy assertion of his and in spite of herself, she gave in. Rearranging took a little effort, but soon she was half on her side, half on her back, tucked against his uninjured shoulder. Stubborn as he was, he'd insisted on putting his arm around her and bringing her closer, defying her attempts to keep her weight away from his chest.

But still, it helped. Pressing her face into the crook of his neck helped. Feeling him swallow helped. Watching the gentle way his chest rose and fell helped. She felt the knot in her belly start to loosen, even if it would take days before it came completely unfurled. In return she felt some of the tension in his shoulders relax, his breath come easier.

"Mhmm, told you it's better."

Her only answer was to rub her toes along his ankle. It'd been close, but not close enough to take this from them.

That's what mattered.


	11. From Behind

**Title**: Fears  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles Challenge #17. From Behind  
**Word** **Count**: 275  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: _Hearing him admit his own fears made her feel just a little better about __hers._  
**Author's** **Notes**: I have about 7 prompts left to start. Thanks for sticking with me on this ride!

* * *

"You're quiet."

The words ghosted across her ear a split second before his warm hand slid around her waist, cupping the bottom of her ever-growing belly. She should be sitting, staying off her feet like the doctor had suggested (not ordered, but it was likely it would be an order by her next appointment, but she was going stir crazy. It didn't help that Tony's mom, while wonderful, was also driving her insane. She'd been fussing over her for two days straight and while it was nice at first, it was a little much now.

"Mhmm, just thinking."

Tony's thumb smoothed across her shirt, drawing her against him even more. His other arm joined the first in cradling her belly as his cheek rested against hers. Her eyes slid shut as she relaxed into his arms. There was just something about hugs like this.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"What I'm going to do with these babies."

He chuckled just a little, swaying with her. "Well you know you got another pair of hands here."

"I know," she whispered, thumbing his knuckles gently. "Still scary, though."

"I know," he agreed, smiling against her cheek. "Scary for me, too."

She couldn't help but sag against him a little more. He'd been so confident this whole time, which only made her anxiety spike more. Hearing him admit his own fears made her feel just a little better about hers. They'd do this together. This having babies – seriously, twins? Who had twins naturally, really? – and raising them thing would be okay because they'd do it together.

Now if she could just get his mother to stop telling her horror stories.


	12. Bear Hugs

**Title**: Muddy Love  
**Fandom**: 24  
**Characters**: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida  
**Prompt**: Hugs and Cuddles 10 - Bear Hugs  
**Word Count**: 517  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summary**: Tony just wants a little bit of muddy love.  
**Author's Notes**: Sorry for my hiatus from these prompts. I ran into a bit of writer's block combined with the insanity of my schedule lately. Hopefully these are worth the wait! Thank you to everyone for the feedback you've given me, including a request to try to make them a little longer. I'll do my best from now on!

* * *

"Ew, Tony!"

He couldn't stop the grin that spread at her pronouncement. She was such a girl sometimes. Not that he'd want her any other way, it was just funny to hear his usually even-keeled girlfriend's voice reach that particularly high pitch. All over a muddy hug.

"What, Michelle? You don't want a hug?"

"Not when you're like that, no." Her nose wrinkled adorably. "What'd you do? Fall in a hole? How do you get that muddy?"

"It's football, Michelle. And it just rained. Now, c'mere, it'll be fun."

She was on her feet before he was halfway to her chair. "No. No no no no. Don't even think about it, mister."

His sweaty, mud-covered form moved closer. He could cut her off before she made too much of a break for it.

"Tony Almeida, you stay back. I did not come to this silly game at dawn and watch you show off only to have you to get me muddy."

Oh she was hot when she lectured him. Call him sick, but he loved that scolding edge to her voice. If she'd use that tone with him, he'd happily roll in mud and chase her around every day.

"Ah, sweetheart, you loved getting up at dawn to watch me show off." He managed to swipe at her waist before she darted to one side. "I saw that look in your eye."

"You saw me wincing, Tony," she called over her shoulder, putting more distance between them. "The testosterone was pretty overwhelming."

She squealed again, darting behind a group of abandoned camp chairs to avoid his questing fingers.

"You love my testosterone."

He heard her snort and he supposed he should be offended. He would've been if she hadn't offered him one of those gorgeous grins over her shoulder.

If only she'd also been looking where she was going. He watched as her foot landed in a puddle, splattering those sexy little not-shorts-but-not-pants that were hugging her ass so nicely with fat drops of brown mud. Her attempted skid to a halt only made things worse, as her feet kept going and the rest of her didn't.

On the bright side, now she was just as muddy as he was.

He grinned, leaning over her and offering his hand. "Need help, sweetheart? I think you might be muddier than me, now."

"Cute."

"I know."

He hauled her up, taking one more opportunity to laugh at her misfortune before she could swat him.

"Jerk."

"Eh, come here. Hug it out. Hug it out."

The eyeroll he got in return only made his arms tighten around her, trapping her against his chest. She could wiggle if she wanted, but she wasn't escaping his muddy love.

He felt her sag against him, resigning herself to the bear hug as her breath puffed against his shirt.

"Blegh, Tony, you stink."

The chuckle burst from his throat. "You love it, baby."

"I'll love getting you home and into a bath more. I'll even join you."

Now there was an incentive.

"Let's go."

Her delighted laugh made him grin. "Lead the way, sweetheart."


End file.
